First Bancshares Inc. posts loss of $288,700

Mountain Grove-based First Bancshares Inc. (Nasdaq: FBSI), holding company for 11 First Home Savings Bank branches, posted a first-quarter net loss of $288,700, a 337 decrease compared to a loss of $66,045 in the same quarter last year.

The company - which operates a Springfield branch at 2655 S. Campbell Ave. - recorded a 19-cent loss per share for the first quarter, compared to a 4-cent loss per share for the same period a year ago. The company's fiscal year ends in June, according to a Nov. 14 news release.

Company officials attributed the loss to a $115,000 decrease in net interest income and a $143,000 increase in noninterest expense.

First-quarter financial highlights:

• As of Sept. 30, net loans receivable were $94.2 million. Provision for loan losses was $56,000.
• Costs of compensation and benefits, professional fees and deposit insurance premiums increased by $67,000, $89,000 and $18,000, respectively.
• Stockholders' equity was $17.7 million at Sept. 30, roughly 8.7 percent of assets.

At the end of the quarter, First Bancshares' total assets were $204.1 million.

In the five-county Springfield metropolitan statistical area, First Home Savings Bank held 0.44 percent of the market share with $32.6 million in deposits across three branches in the MSA. The Federal Deposit Insurance Corp. released the updated market share rankings Oct. 4.

As of 10:05 a.m. the company's shares were trading at $5.22, compared to a 52-week range of $4.83 to $9.49.[[In-content Ad]]